Colin Heldt

Mixing, Mastering, and Editing

I am a professional Audio Engineer with over 10 years of experience. I specialize in creating radio ready mixes for clients and have done so for years now. I served as the staff engineer for a studio in Nashville called Dark Horse Recording and have worked with many notable clients including Tim McGraw, OneRepublic, James Morrison, to name a few.

Music has always been an important part of my life and always will be. As a musician, I started at an early age learning to play piano, then drums, and finally guitar. I earned a degree in Production and Technology from Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, TN, and during my final semester of college, I interned at Dark Horse Recording Studio in Franklin, TN and had the opportunity to work with many notable audio engineers and artists. After graduation, I accepted the position of Head Engineer for Dark Horse Recording, where I honed my skills as a recording and mixing engineer for some of the top artists in the music business. With 10 years of professional experience under my belt, I have moved on from Dark Horse to pursue freelance engineering work. I have my own editing/mixing suite in Nashville, TN and am available for any of your engineering or production needs.

Couldn't have asked for a better experience. Colin is a great mixer and has done incredible work on my project, he's also very patient and a great guy! If you need your music to be taken to the next level then look no further.

Colin does what he promises. He treats my music like his child- he really takes care of my product and he has helped me craft a less than ideal recording into a almost masterpiece. I am very grateful and Colin's personality is ideal for artists to work with-patient, gentle, careful and kind!

Colin did a great job with all my tracks and for an awesome price. He listened to all my requests and helped take my vocals up from a very novice level to actually enjoyable. I would definitely like to work with him again in the future.

Colin has brought my vocals from a modest to professional level and you'd never know he touched them. To boot he comped my stuff too and I couldn't believe my ears! Do yourself a favor and if you're serious, hire this genius!

I started as an intern and quickly became the main staff engineer at a large multi studio complex just outside of Franklin, TN. There I had the ability to work with many different extremely successful Engineers and Producers and learn from them. I also had the ability to engineer for many notable artists their as well. I now have moved on to working freelance at various studios around town as well as mixing and mastering at my personal studio.

Which artist would you like to work with and why?

I have wanted to work with Dave Grohl for quite some time now. What he has done for music in the last couple of decades has been a great thing to watch.

Can you share one music production tip?

More is not always better when it comes to production. Every element of a song needs to be considered as to whether it is adding or subtracting from the message of the song.

What type of music do you usually work on?

I have worked on nearly every genre out there from smooth jazz instrumental records, to pop country, to heavy rock, to R&B, and many others.

What's your strongest skill?

Being able to hear an artist's vision and deliver on that by exceeding their expectations.

What do you bring to a song?

I bring the experience of working across multiple genres and understanding what it is that makes a song work in that particular genre. I like to really analyze the arrangement of a song and will often suggest adjustments such as removing an instrument or adding one in parts of the song in order to maximize a songs impact on the audience.

What's your typical work process?

I like to start by listening intently to what the song is about and what are its driving factors. I like to talk with the artist and get an idea of the direction they want the song or project to go in so that we are on the same page. I then will do everything in my power to accomplish the artist's vision while also trying to give them a unique sound to differentiate them.

Tell us about your studio setup.

My studio setup is based around gear from Apogee, Benchmark Media Systems, Black Lion Audio, and Event Monitoring. I have built it with simplicity, sonic integrity, and proper room treatment as my main goals.

Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.

I specialize in Mixing and Mastering projects and have been recognized for a keen ability to take projects to the next level.